Mechanical toy



Oct. 20, 1931. 5, 5, BERGER 1,827,775

MECHANICAL TOY Filed March 3, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l wb wk w w 5 SIL.

ii Elli@ ii l u w N i' i if j@ l", i Pif/N N Q2 3 gw S. BERGER MECHANICAL TOY Filed March 3, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w www@ Patented Oct. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES SAMUEL I. BERGER, NEWARK, JERSEY MECHANL' yAppntati'on med March 3,

The toy of the present invention is of the type in which a miniature airplane, normally resting on the ground is connected to one end of anormally inclined counterweighted lever1V rotatably fulcrumed intermediate its ends on the top of a stationary column. The airplane motor drives a toy propeller which moves the plane over the ground'atvsuch a speed that ythe centrifugal force developed,

coupled with the lifting action of the propeller is sufficient to overcome gravity and cause the plane to rise and fly in a circular path,

turning the leverfaboutthe column. This action is, of course, asslsted 1n large measure by the counterweight whichis preferably so proportioned that even a small centrifugal force will tend to swing the ylever to horizontal position.

One object of the invention is to provide a toy of this character in which the counterweight simulates an aircraft, so that when the device is in motion there will appear to be twol aircraft flying in circular paths about the central column, which may be convenientlydesigned to simulate a mooring mast or lighthouse if desired. p

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved simplified construction of airlplane which will be realisticin appearance.

l nother object'of the invention is to improve vand simplifythe construction ofthe lever and its rotatable fulcrum. Preferably the lever lcarries its own fulcruming n pin adapted to be removably mounted in a socket Y in the column, and the use ofa projecting pin y ijn the column'which might seriously injure a child falling upon it is entirely avoided.

Further and more general objects of the invention are toy provide a toy of simple practical construction, which will be rugged, durable and eiicient in use, which will provide amusement anddiversion for both old and young observers, which may be conveniently setup and operated by a child and whichis well suited to the requlrements of economical manufacture.

Ihe invention may be more fully understood from the following description together with' the accompanying drawings, which are illustrative of only oneof the preferred em- PATENT OFFICE CAL TOY 1927. vserial No. 172,232.

bodiments of the invention and not to be construed in a limiting sense.

In the drawings Fig. l is a view in side elevation of the toy with the airplane at rest and parts of the column brokenaway and in section to expose its construction. The dotted lines indicate the positions assumed by the two toy aircraft and the lever whenthe toy is in operation,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the lever,

Fig. '3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view therethrough,

F 4 is a top plan view of the motor driven airplane, on a larger scale,

Fig. 5v 'is a longitudinal sectional View therethrough,

A' 6 is a side elevational view of the other aircraft with parts of the body broken away to expose the counterweight,

Figs. 7 and 8 are transverse sectional views 'on the lines 7-7 and 8-8 respectively of Fig.l 6;.v and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an alternative form of the airplane.

Referring to Fig. 1 in a general way I have used the numeral 10 to designate the central supporting column on the top of which is rotatably fulcrumed the lever 11. Detachably connected to opposite ends of the lever are the motor driven toy airplane 12 and the counterweighted toy'aircraft 13, the latter preferably simulating a dirigible and being slightly lighter. than the former which normally rests upon the' ground and maintains the lever `in the tilted position tol elevate dirigible L 13.

Supp @Ming column Cil p and may simulate the observation platformsv i the column,

wide base renders it diiiicult to tip the column over. A cap piece 18 closes the top of the column and a substantially hemispherical hollow dome member 19 is mounted on the top of the cap. The cap may be attached to the dome and column by the tongue and slot connections-so well'known in the sheet nieta-l toy art andthe cap and dome are formed with aligned central openings 20. An 'annular' memberv 21 encircling gthelcolumn-z'l nearfits':`

upper end may be upwardly flanged at 22Y or bridge of a mooring mast or lighthouse, the resemblance being enhanced*bysuitabl'e surface decoration (not shown) `ontthe various parts as will Vbe well"iinderstood.

i y y y i Lever y i The leverl (Eigs, 1, 2, and is formed'of i. twoy preferably identical Sections 23,23 each comprising a length 4of channelled sheet metal? with [the .channels Ffacing v.downwardly' when'. the leverisin appliedaposition. i Tliefchannel' forming flangesterminate short of the outer t ends of the sections While extended ends of the intermediate or web portion of the channel pieces may be transverselybent to define hooks24 :adapted to receive theaircra'ft`12 and y13. At. the. opposite ends of "thelever sections .the` channel? forming flanges y are eX-" tended to define ears 25 one ear ofea'ch'pair Vbeing longer than the .other and coacting {Wi-th thello'werf-side of the web foffthe'opposite section to: prevent: pivotalrmovem'entiof the' sec tionsinloneA direction about the :pivot pin26' whichvis passedthroughy the four aligned and Yapertured ears 25.^ Thus th'elever'. may b e foldedupwardly. for compactiiessin" storageand Ahandlingbut will serve as a 'rigid bar. beingself.v sustaining against downward folding movement iwh'enmounted on top of the column. y s' The attened apertured end 28fof 'a ,fulcruming pin 29 receives, the pivot-"pin 26 which i is .enlarged` atv its :ends -26"`to prevent sepa-ration off/the parts., Thevirounde/dfend ofthe pin .291 is adapted tov be enteredv intov the aligned 4openings 20 inthe cap" and' dome of extent to which the pin 29'may bevinserted is limited by burrs or tits 30 struck'the'refr'om;

. Motor drieen toy airplane i i A .angie iongaudimny tapered sheet" of metal, 'Figs'. 4 and 5, cut to the desired shape, isfbent. alonglongitfudinal lines to define the top v,311and ysides -321of vthe airplane fbody,-

., Thebottom'of the,bodyissubstantially open,

. arranged generally save .for a:pair ofinwardly presented flanges 33 integral witlithe lower edges'o'flthe sides; The, front endof the body'is closed by u a nose cap 34""which with one arm of an interiorly' U shaped bracket '.35 pro-l vides bea-rings for a propeller shaft'36 on y A the -wall'sof said openings pro-v fi' Vidingt a double.bearingsforgthev pin. s- The the outer end of which is fixed a propeller 37. Depending ears 38 and 39 integral with the sides 32 of thel body provide mountings for the wheel axles 40, 41. A pair of traction wheels 42 are `mounted on the front axle 4() while a single steering and traction roller 43 isturnable freelyjon the rear axle 411.'

The" plane is of the-"'1n"ono'plane type, a wing forming sheet 44 being bent at the desiredi angle-to ,gine the proper lifting action and at its centerv following the contour of andfbeing secured to the forward portion of the body top 31 by tongues 45 at the upper ends Ofbraclret'a-rms-f'. The Wing may be corrugated as at 44a to strengthen it againstJ bendiii'gj'strains:

ulating -the ed :to be 'engaged of the-"leyermllk I The body] is ofl the' usualtapered`l formation portion Y The motor ,inecha'nismimaybeJ-more orfless' conventional. and has been-illustrated fasi in:L cluding 1 a-windingshaftt 51"'th1efforward? endl oftvhicli turns in tlie'biafcket 'and-,thef-'rea'r end "'offwhich is ornef'in awgene allyisir'ni'lar y bracketf52 depending frfoir-itlfieitop."` of :the lbody; The rearfend of-thisls'li'aftfis extended and bent to providefaf-readilfy--ac' concealed ofthe wellz'lr'nown type foi'enabling the-'springturn thergear fmaybefutilized. yAffcountersh'afti r K1journalled 'inthe-'bracket 35 cari riesl a vpinion 58 meshing l'with"thegear '56:and`I provided ai train -ofI speedmnltiplyingi gears Y forming plate 1 of general V shape in cross section is secured by passing it through alined slots 72 in the body.

Operation In operation the column 10 is set up upon any suitable flat surface such for instance as the table 90, the lever 11 is unfolded and the fulcrum pin 29 inserted in the openings 20. Dirigible 13 is hooked on one end of the lever 11. The motor of the airplane 12 is wound and the plane engaged with the other end of the lever, the weight of the airplane 12 slightly predominating so that it will rest on the table 90 and elevate the dirigible as seen in Fig. 1.

As the propeller 37 (which has been manually held against rotation while winding the motor and attaching the plane to the lever) is released it will act to draw the airplane 12 forwardly moving it in a circular path over the table about the column 10 as a center and initiating rotative movement of the lever 11 on its fulcrum. Most of the weight of the airplane 12 is sustained by the counterweighted dirigible 13 so that the propellerl will have but little friction to overcome when starting and maintaining rolling movement of the wheels 42, 43 over the surface of the table.

The centrifugal force developed by the circular travel of the airplane coupled with the slight lifting action of the propeller on wing 44 causes the plane to gradually rise above the surface of the table until the lever 11 assumes the substantially horizontal position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Rotation of the toy will continue with the lever in this position until the motor slows down and the plane loses momentum at which time the plane will gradually settle down onto the surface from which it rose.

The taking off, flying and landing of the plane is very realistic and amusing t0 watch. The use of the dirigible adds to the natural appearance of the toy particularly while the plane is in flight.

In Fig. 9 is shown an alternative form of airplane embodied as a bi-plane instead of a monoplane. For this purpose, the fuselage 31 has its extension ears 38 extending downward through corresponding slots 382 in the I lower wing (w. Spars 75 are struck up from the lower wing, leaving openings 76 therein, said spars stiffened by bending longitudinally for a channel beam conformation, which includes lateral wings 77. The upper ends of the spars are attached to the u per wing 44, preferably by soldering (not s own) In the present embodiment I have also indicated a novel form of brake, which, of course, is applicable alternatively to the monoplane construction of Figs. 4 and 5, or the bi-plane construction of Fig. 9. This brake comprises a length of wire 78 extending formed 'as a reversel'ylbent loop 81 extending through an elongated slot 82 in the forward end of the fuselage bod said loop .81 extending whenthe brake fiandleis pushed to 'the operative position sho'wn,vin lthe path of rotation of the propeller 3 7. When thehundlewSO is pushed back to ,thel opposite extremity' of its slot, the end ofthe forward part 81 is drawniout of the path of Irotation ofthe propeller. The `forward end of the brake member' being rounded 4will not-become interlocked with the propeller `should it be advanced vwhena part of the propeller is in the path thereof. The rear or handle end of the,A operating member frictionally en- 'gagesrthe fuselage body so that saidv brake member will be frictionally or impositively heldin any setting thereof. ylVith thebralre construction shown, it will be seen that the winding of the motor isfacilitated and the airplaneV body can be deposited upon the ground on starting the toy, without having to hold the propeller, the latter being released by simply drawing the brake handle 80 rearwardly.

'Obviously various structural modifications might be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters- Patent is:

1. A toy of the class described, including a central supporting column, a tilting lever rotatably fulcrumed on the upper end thereof, said column having a cap and dome atv therein, a revoluble pin in said perforations, ahorizontal pivot connecting said lever and pin, a toy motor-driven airplane detachably engaged with one end of the lever, and a counterbalancing toy aircraft carried by the other end of the lever.

2. A toy of the class described, including a central supporting column, a tilting lever rotatably fulcrumed on the upper end thereof, said column having a cap and dome at the top with vertically aligned perforations therein, a revoluble pin in said perforations, a horizontal pivot connecting said lever and pin, a toy motor-driven airplane detachably engaged with one end of the lever, and a counterbalancing toy aircraft carried by the other end of the lever, said aircraft comprising a hollow sectional body simulating a dirigible, and a counterweighting bar in the body.

3. A toy of the class described, including a central supporting column, a tilting lever rotatably fulcrumed on the upper end thereof, said column having a cap and a dome at the top with vertically aligned perforations-therein, a toy ymotor-driven airplane detachably enga ed with one end of the lever, vand a counterba ancing toy aircraft.v carried by the other end of the' lever, a fulcrum pin carried by the central part of said lever and adapted to be inserted jin said perforations at the top of the column, the lever being pivoted to said pin. Y f 4.' A toy of the class described, including 10 a central supporting column, a tilting lever rotatably fulcrumed onthe upper end thereof,' said column having a cap and a dome at the top' with vertically aligned perfcrations p therein, a toy motor-driven airplane detachlil; ably engaged with one end of thelever, and a counterbalancing toy aircraft carried'by the 'other end of the lever, a ulcrum pin carried bythe central part of said lever and adapted to bel inserted in said perforations at the 2e -top of the column, said pin including means to limit the extent of its insertion, the lever being pivoted to said pin. Y Y

Signed at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, this 18th dayo 25 February, A. D. 1927. Y SAMUEL I. BERGER 

